Latest Thinking from IEG

Italian Cultural Partnerships Bear Watching
As oil is the Middle East’s natural resource, culture is Italy’s. The country is home to more UNESCO World Heritage sites, museums and archeological sites than any other in the world.

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Filed under: backlash, cause marketing, destination/tourism, fashion, government/municipal, international, museums/zoos/aquariums, arts

Events Gain Well-deserved Support From Tourism Offices
Although event and festival producers often act as de facto marketing arms of cities, regions or countries—attracting visitors, generating positive media coverage, enhancing quality of life for residents, etc.—rarely do they get strategic, sustained support from their tourism bureaus.

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Filed under: events, festivals, government/municipal, international, destination/tourism

Festival Innovations Demonstrate New Ways of Connecting with Audiences
There is much irony is writing this post from Tuscany, where so many of the festivals date back to medieval times and don’t need to be concerned with staying relevant through fresh ideas and content.

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Filed under: events, festivals, international, music, trends, destination/tourism

A Rare Look At The Numbers Behind A Major Event

The City of Chicago has long been one of the only major municipalities to produce and market annual festivals and civic celebrations in house, through the Mayor’s Office of Special Events, which due to a departmental reorganization recently became the Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.

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Filed under: events, festivals, government/municipal, local, destination/tourism

Four Reasons CVBs Should Sponsor More and Advertise Less

Can I really tell CVBs to spend less on advertising? Am I brave enough to court the wrath of media entities and the hospitality and travel industries? OK, no.

CVBs, tourism boards and destinations should spend fewer marketing dollars on one-off advertising and a la carte direct mail marketing. Instead, spend dollars on ads and direct mail campaigns as part of—or activation of—integrated sponsorship packages.

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Filed under: associations, destination/tourism, digital media, entertainment, government/municipal, spending, activation

Extreme Makeover: Sponsorship Edition (Episode #2)

See Episode 1 for information about this blog series.

Motel 6’s Great Teddy Bear Roundup

Before: This week, Accor North America’s Motel 6 and Studio 6 brands launched the second annual Great Teddy Bear Roundup. This program asks people to donate new teddy bears at Motel 6/Studio 6 drop-off locations. The locations then deliver the teddy bears to local law enforcement, fire stations and hospitals that use the teddy bears “to comfort children experiencing stressful or traumatic situations.” The 2008 campaign yielded 10,000 teddy bear donations across the country. This year, the local police or fire department in the community where the most donations are made will also receive $6,000. Read the Motel 6 press release here.

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Filed under: cause marketing, destination/tourism, government/municipal, hospitals and healthcare, local, nonprofit, strategic philanthropy, activation

Sponsors See Greater Return If They Tell A Property’s Story

I recently facilitated a sponsor summit for a client in the meetings and conventions industry. This was the third straight year I hosted the event, but this year I had an awakening of sorts.

I am one of the many people who were very upset with what some of the financial institutions seemed to be doing with TARP funds. I wondered why my tax dollars needed to help them continue with management and sales trips after they managed to put the economy in the toilet! I decided my money should not pay for more shrimp and golf for financial executives.

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Filed under: destination/tourism, sponsorship ROI, activation

Pitching Hotels? Might Be Time for a Changeup

“Generic” might be having a good run in pharmacies and grocery stores right now, but hotels are looking for assets that differentiate them from the guy down the street.

An article in Monday’s The Wise Marketer highlights a recent study of hotel rewards programs, conducted by Razor’s Edge Business Intelligence. As most of the chains have run their loyalty programs for many years (some more than two decades), Razor’s Edge is predicting that the programs will “move on from simply adding more partners and more benefits toward developing in whole new directions. . . . such as the creation of sub-clubs that appeal to special interest groups (e.g. sportsmen, sports fans, or bikers) or the addressing of environmental concerns.”

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Filed under: cause marketing, destination/tourism, packaging, selling, associations

Valuing On-Site Interactive/Highly-Integrated Opportunities Can be Tricky – Part Three of a Three-Part Series

As mentioned in parts one and two of the series, of all of the categories of tangible benefits (both measured and non-measured) that I come across, valuing “can’t buy” hospitality, unique access opportunities or interactive/highly-integrated benefits are some of the hardest tangible benefits to value. Of course, these also happen to be some of the most valuable pieces of a sponsorship package.

The third part of the series concentrates on on-site interactive or highly-integrated opportunities. Many of the principles for valuing VIP hospitality and unique access opportunities apply to interactive/highly-integrated opportunities. Keep in mind, there isn’t always a clear delineation between categories; the line can be a little blurry.

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Filed under: associations, automotive, beer, cause marketing, destination/tourism, events, government/municipal, nonprofit, pro sports, soft drink, sports, valuation, arts

Valuing Unique Access Opportunities Can be Tricky – Part Two of a Three-Part Series

As mentioned in part one of the series, of all of the categories of tangible benefits (both measured and non-measured) that I come across, valuing “can’t buy” hospitality, unique access opportunities or interactive/highly integrated benefits are some of the hardest tangible benefits to value. Of course, these also happen to be some of the most valuable pieces of a sponsorship package.

The second part of the series concentrates on unique access opportunities. Many of the principles for valuing VIP hospitality apply to unique access opportunities. Keep in mind, there isn’t always a clear delineation between categories; the line can be a little blurry.

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Filed under: associations, automotive, beer, cause marketing, destination/tourism, events, government/municipal, music, nonprofit, pro sports, soft drink, sports, valuation, arts